Zombocalypse
Tazma IV - Ruined Cities The cities of Tazma are all, save for a few stray lights running on some permanent power source, virtually dark. Even during the day, dark clouds frequently cluster overhead, blotting out the sun and casting the cities in darkness. Throughout these cities, strange, unnatural noises can be heard, like guttural moans and high-pitched shrieks. Now and then gunfire echoes throughout the streets. The cities are all in extremely bad shape. Buildings have suffered tremendous damage, vehicles sit driver-less through the streets, trash is strewn about everywhere, and the walls are all pockmarked with gunfire. There is a noticeable lack of inhabitants here, however. At least at first. Contents: Gnaw Foxfire Shockwave Catechism CDA Poster Obvious exits: Orbit leads to Deep Space - Galactic Plane. Middle of City leads to Tazma IV - Safehouse. Durango has arrived. Sinnertwin has arrived. Kup had been doing some research prior to coming here, looking into a person known only as "Madmind." What he discovered, by plying the intergalactic information sellers' wares, is that he had apparently set up shop on some ordinary world called Tazma IV, a place inhabited by non-transforming robots. As the scene begins, he is just now stepping off of an Autobot shuttle with his comrades into the middle of a street. He looks around the darkened and dilipadated city skeptically as the shuttle takes off after unloading its personnel. "Hnnh," he says, stepping up to a severed arm on the street. He picks it up, and sees that its thumb was bitten off. Kup says, "Need some encryption." Red Alert has encrypted this channel. Red Alert says, "Done, Kup." Kup says, "Thanks. Alright, lads. We're here to find this Madmind guy. He's supposed to yet another maniac experimenting with the Matrix, or something like it. Dunno what he looks like, but we got one of his personal items, some kinda scanner. We can have Foxfire sniff it and track 'im that way." Fireflight says, "Did you want me along?" Kup says, "Yeah." Fireflight says, "Okay! ... I'm on the ship right now" Foxfire follows after Kup, much like a dog trailing its owner. His ears twitch as he glances around, his paws sounding lightly upon the ground beneath him. Alarmed at the sight of the severed arm, his optics widen. He rears up onto his hind legs to give it a sniff as Kup picks it up, then drops back down on all fours. "I don't like this place..." Saboteur Foxfire says, "The sooner we can leave, the better. This place is givin' me the creeps." Kup says, "Yeah. Somethin' ain't right here." XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her body, and her wings rotate into position at her hips. Sinnertwin unfolds into his robot mode. Egads! Red Alert says, "Be advised, Kup, the Decepticons are heading to the same world, looking for both Madmind and the Matrix." Kup says, "Frag! Well, we'll just have to beat 'em to it." Fireflight says, "We have a ship to do that with!" Fireflight has arrived. Marissa Faireborn has arrived. Fireflight strides along quickly to catch up to Foxfire and Kup, staring all about himself. THen he sighs a little "I agree. Its just as depressing as the last three we were on." he notes quietly, sadly. XF-35B Astral Lightning has become a vastly more useful scout ever since got herself upgraded to FTL capacities. It makes her more difficult to repair, but being able to dog after the Orion Pax is quite useful for correlating with what DCI has dredged up. The Decepticons she has with her may not be the most subtle, but they'll do. There is no problem that 'smash' cannot solve. Durango quickly poses in, being IN THE GENERAL BACKGROUND of the scene behind Foxfire and Kup. He's the muscle for this particular mission. The Autobots are F:)ked. Colonel Faireborn has taken a great interest in helping the Autobots get their Matrix of Leadership back. Countless conversations with Rodimus Prime have convinced her of the importance that artifact has, both for Autobot morale and in a very real sense. She doesn't fully understand its capabilities, but she recognizes what a danger it could be. Marissa, wearing Terran combat gear that wouldn't look terribly out of place on today's battlefields, steps out of the shuttle along with the Autobots. She frowns at the arm Kup finds. "The hell does that mean?" she asks. Lured here by the promise of Food, food and MOAR FOOD, Gnaw arrives with the Decepticons in search of the Matrix. What is the Matrix? Darned if the Sharkticon knows. All he understands is eating Autobots, picking up sparkly shiny glowy things, and eating Autobots. Oh, and eating Autobots. Speaking of subtle Decepticons, Sinnertwin is here! And he's loud! What a surprise! "I will CRUSH and MAIM and DECIMATE and DESTROY every AUTOBOT in the UNIVERSE so I may RETRIEVE the MATRIX for LORD GALVATRON!" He clears his throat with a harsh cough. Kup tosses the arm aside with a scowl. "I don't know yet, Colonel. Someone gnawed that thumb off with their teeth, which ain't easy since it's a mechanical arm." He steps down the darkened streets, muttering, "Keep a close watch, all of you. Foxfire, keep sniffing for Madmind's scent." Looking over at a nearby building, he notices that posters over it, and over many other adjacent buildings. He squints at the text. "Civil Decepticon Authority?... What the..." o/~ Ooo WEEE oooo... o/~ Shadows begin to move back and forth on the rooftops, between alleys, and behind windows... Fireflight slows a little as he stares at the sign too, and blinks "... MAybe we should have brought disguises." he notes to Kup, perhaps unhelpfully. He then looks over his shoulder at Durango to make sure he was keeping up, then back once more. CDA Poster These appear to be posted just about anywhere there's a flat, vertical surface. These CDA posters appear to give advice on body disposal, securing your home, and waiting out the crisis. But what does CDA stand for, you may be wondering? Civil Decepticon Authority. Foxfire nods and lowers his head, sniffing around in a few circles. He pauses at one point, blinking and looking up at the posters. "The creepy factor just rose..." He looks around, then lifts a front paw to point in one direction. "I think he's that way." XF-35B Astral Lightning flies above, surveying this planet. The Autobots are fairly obvious, and she's sure that Gnaw and Sinnertwin will be spotted soon enough, what with all the ruckus that they make. The jet dives a bit, concerned. The shadow in the alleys are... moving? What devilry is this? "Some kind of animal, maybe," Marissa suggests. "Were the teeth marks mechanical in nature or biological?" Depending on how the arm was gnawed, there might be sharp wounds similar to what a knife would produce. If the teeth were sharp metal, anyway. Glancing about as Kup approaches the sign, Marissa wrinkles her nose. "Smells terrible here." At the mention of Decepticons, Marissa frowns and grips the rifle slung over her shoulder tightly. "This isn't like any Decepticon installation I've ever see." That's her roundabout way of asking Kup if it's like anything he's ever seen before. Durango is keeping up, thank you very much. He's slower than some, but not heart-breakingly slow. Like Grimlock. He's just wading through chanspam. And making sure to not step on Marissa. How good it is that they've found a planet with the correct oxygen makeup in the atmosphere. Durango, for his part, is remaining silent (thank Primus), and kind of forming a one-Bot perimeter around the rest, looking outwards, rather than in. Sinnertwin stomps around as obnoxiously and as loudly as possible through the dark streets that make up the seemingly abandoned city. "Now! The quest for the Matrix begins!" Sinnertwin claps his hands together and bows his head, "May the WISE leadership of LORD GALVATRON guide me through this TEDIOUS and IMPORTANT mission!" Okay, that's over with. Time to start kicking things over. Sinnertwin flips over a trashcan and peers. "NOTHING HERE!" Kup nods to Foxfire, and walks down in the direction Foxfire pointed. "I dunno if disguises would be any help here, Fireflight. Ain't seen any actual Decepti--" He looks up just as he hears Sinnertwin screaming about Galvatron. "--eehhh, except those knuckleheads that are probably following us." Glancing back down at Marissa, he says, "Nah... I... I dunno. It's dark. Mighta been mechanical though. And yer right, this ain't like a normal Decepticon base. It's like they just moved in on the natives. But they didn't conquer 'em, I don't think. They musta tried somethin' more subtle. They do that, sometimes." Just then, something starts running towards Kup. "Hello? Are you one of the natives on this planet?" Kup yells at the running figure, waving a hand at it. Then it jumps on Kup, biting him on the hand. "AGGGH! Nuts!" Kup yells, pushing the maniac off. Then they begin to pour out. Dozens and dozens of robots, much like the Transformers themselves, shrieking and growling. A mass of gunmetal grey, milky white optics, and mouths open and drooling oil. They're not just attacking the Autobots, though. Sinnertwin seems to have drawn a lot of them for some reason! "Well, my fangs can chew through wires," Foxfire comments as he moves alongside Kup. "And I did rip out Rumble's vocalizer once, so I think it's possible..." He pins his ears back at the sound of Sinnertwin's voice, but before he can say another, he is abruptly startled by the strange figure jumping onto Kup. "Kup! Are you okay?!" He snarls and backs up slightly, optics flaring as he watches the emerging strangers. "This reminds me of those zombie movies I've watched..." Fireflight nods at Kup, then looks over at the native... his jaw drops as it reaches up and BITES Kup "... I guess that answers your question, Marissa!" he notes, his gun appearing as he whirls about to aim at the nearest one. "What the slag!!" *BLAM* "really, how did they defeat them then, Foxfire?" Fireflight misses Zombie Troop with his disruptor attack. Saboteur Foxfire says, "PRIMUS ABOVE!" Durango, having prior been appointed Marissa's 'ride,' as it seems, rushes towards said EDC general at the first sight of trouble, crouching down towards her, assuming she hasn't run away by now. "Want in, oah stayin' out feh this one?" "Looks pretty old. Maybe they tried whatever it was a long time ago," Marissa comments, walking past one of the buildings. To the naked eye they look darn near ancient, but it's dark enough that this isn't terribly scientific. When the sounds of footfalls running towards them reaches the Colonel, she reaches up above her helmet and lowers the standard issue night vision goggles. Her world suddenly turns various shades of green (but not the shade of green you're thinking of). She readies her rifle but doesn't raise it, not warning to alarm whoever is running for her. It doesn't help, as Kup gets attacked and swarms of machines begin pouring out of the buildings. "Shoulder or riding shotgun," she replies curtly to Durango in a rushed tone. "Whichever works best for you." Marissa can shoot at enemies from either spot. XF-35B Astral Lightning sees some sort of robots approaching Sinnertwin, though from her altitude, she is unable to resolve the exact horrific details. She bleeds altitude, descending to denser air, closer to Sinnertwin's position to get a better visual fix on the enemies. Sinnertwin hefts a second trashcan over his head and glares at the empty ground below it. "Rargh! I give up! This is WAY too difficult!" Lifting his gaze off the ground, Sinnertwin spots the group of Autobots and begins to say something, but the zombie attack stops his train of thought and he just laaaaaughs. "Stupid Autobots! May you be TORN to PIECES and SENT TO HELL! HAHHAHAHA-" Then a group of robozombies sneak up (just kidding, they were busting ass) and knock him to the ground. "AAARGH! WHAT AN IRONIC TURN OF EVENTS!" he barks out before a set of rusty jaws impale themselves on his cheek. Gnaw sees masses of walking bodies. To a Sharkticon, that's like getting out one of those old fashioned dinner triangles and ringing it while shouting "COOOOME AAAAAAAAAND GEEEEEEEEEEEEEET IIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" The Sharkticon realizes he's hungry, and transforms to take a bite out of the masses. Gnaw transforms into his Sharkticon mode. Gnaw strikes Zombie Troop with bite. "Couple methods for that," Foxfire replies to Fireflight. "One is burning them. Another is decapitation. I don't think they can go out during the day, either--but that one's kind of irrelevant right now!" He crouches slight, letting loose a flaming stream from his mouth. "FIRE!" Foxfire misses Zombie Troop with his Fire attack. Kup punches the zombie that bit him, then shoves aside another gaggle of them as they charge. "Damn! Zombies! I shoulda known! FOXFIRE! Keep tracking that scent! We have to find this guy no matter the cost! Durango, protect Marissa! Fireflight, if we get overwhelmed, just fly out of here and don't look back! Now, Autobots, we gotta push through! CHARGE!" He dives into the zombie masses, bowling them over, but they just... keep... coming! Durango shifts down into SUV mode. You strike Zombie Troop with OH HELL NAH. A robot that appears to be severely bloated quietly walks out of an alley, and hustles towards Sinnertwin. "BLAARRRGHGHHHH!" And it... *vomits* at him. Yes, it vomits at him. Say, is that a Decepticon icon on this particular zombie? Subaru Outback shifts down into his more zombie-elusive mode, and brings his rocketry up out of his cab as his passenger side door swings open. (For those keeping score at home, his passenger side is on the /right/ side. Because he's /Australian/. And they drive on the /wrong/ side of the road. "Shotgon, eh? I'm a bit quickah in this mode." Zombie Troop misses Sinnertwin with its Evisceration attack. XF-35B Astral Lightning tries to scout out for any more intact buildings that might contain a clue inside,. Luckily, none of these... zombies seems to be able to fly. She remembers back when Scrapper meddled with the undead. Catechism couldn't quite believe it then, and she has difficulty believing it now. After all, zombies shamble around and eat stuff. Sharkticons shamble around and eat stuff. That doesn't make Sharkticons undead! Sinnertwin manages to get some footing and rise back onto his feet. "FOOLISH....THINGS! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?" he shouts, fists raised in the air and then...he just stands there. "No, really. DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" Sinnertwin stands there with his hands on his hips, awaiting a response. He gets one. And it's in the form of barf. As the stream of foul smelling, gut wrenching stomach goop flies past him, the Terrorcon peers. "Blot?" And then the zombies knock him down again and start to dig their oil crusted fingertips into his armor creases. "AAAARGH! BLOT, YOU JERK, HELP ME." A shot rings out, blasting through the wave of robot zombies assailing Sinnertwin like a rifle round through a line of rotten pumpkins! "You should take the high ground," says Shockwave's voice from where he stands on one of the rooftops, silhouetted against the moon. His chest and cannon arm glow a warm radioactive pink. "And keep moving. From my surveys this entire planet represents what can best be thought of as a 'failed experiment.'" Shockwave strikes Zombie Troop with Repetitive Microwave Bursts. Colonel Faireborn starts towards Durango's right side out of instinct, but then stops when she realizes it's his right side and not his passenger side. She quickly runs around to the left side, but then remembers that it doesn't really matter if she's in the driver's side or the passenger side. It's just best for her to be on the right side so she can lean out and shoot people. She's a righty, after all. Muttering to herself, Marissa rushes back around to the right side again and gets in. The end result is that it takes about ten seconds longer than it should have. "Sorry about that. British cars are confusing." She leans out the window and starts lining up shots. Subaru Outback waits for Marissa to complete her Keystone Kops routine before taking off, making circles and dodging in and out alleys in a losoe perimeter around wherever the bots have stationed themselves, shooting his flamethrowers whenever one gets too close. For his part, he is more concerned about keeping Marissa safe and firing than he is about exacting a body count of his own. He does take the time to correct her on one thing, though: "Austrahlyan." (He leaves out the 'Japanese Company' part of his rebuttal.) Durango strikes Zombie Troop with headlight-mounted firethrowers. The bloated zombie shuffles off somewhere to recharge its vomit, making disgusting burping sounds all the while. The little rotund Shark-ball gnaws away (lol) at the zombies. Why, this was like an all you-can-eat buffet! Masses of robots all ripe for the eating. Sharkticon opens wide and prepares to really chomp down. Do the Zombies stink of undeath? Perhaps. Or perhaps not. But all this doesn't matter to Gnaw. All he cares about right now is filling his belly. Gnaw misses Zombie Troop with his evisceration attack. "Right!" Foxfire darts off, leaving his comrades to deal with the zombies, although he is reluctant to do so. He quickly follows the scent, which eventually leads him to what appears to be a subway entrance. He peers down it, sniffs the air, then descends into it. Fireflight nods at Kup at that, though he didnt look too happy. "Fire? Let's fire then." he states, and transforms! Taking to the skies, Fireflight dissapears from sight as he gains airspace to turn around without hitting anything. THen he dives back down out of nowhere, aiming for some zombies that weren't TOO close to his friends. *FWOOOSH* "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" he bellows as he release a Fogfire missile... right before dissapearing into a hole in a building in front of him. Fireflight strikes Zombie Troop with Firefog Missile. XF-35B Astral Lightning thinks she sees what might be a subway tunnel, and the Autobots, in their fighting, are being forced closer to it. She dives at the tunnel and then transforms, doing a few flips in the air before landing. There might be some zombies over here, too, close enough to menace her, and she's certainly on edge about the whole situation. She doesn't understand Shockwave's technobabble, but she gets that the technology here is anomalous, even unnatural. Best to be aware, to beware. XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her shoulders to expose her face, and her wings rotate into position. Kup fires his laser musket into the hordes, causing many of them to fall over. The zombies behind them stumble over their slain peers and waste precious moments trying to get back up. "Everyone, follow Foxfire, dammit! We can't stay here!" Running after the little tape, he fires into the zombie ranks as he runs. He doesn't notice Catechism yet, even though she has to be *right there.* Overhead, a seeker passes by over Durango. Just another Decepticon, right? Wrong! It transforms just as it's overhead, attempting to land on top of him! It lets loose a shrill scream! "YAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" "Blararraaagrhhghg!" Sinnertwin rings out as a zombie gnaws on his nose and drools oil all over the place. Another one digs his fingers into a neck seam, yanks out a thick cord, and begins to floss with it. "THE HORROR. THE HORRRORRRRRRRRRRR!" The Terrorcon reaches a hand out above the zombie dogpile, fingers wiggling about in a plea for assistance. And then something amazing happens.. Just as soon as they came, the zombies practically explode in a mess of spent lubricant and rusty shrapnel. A robot in purple has come to his rescue. "L-Lord Galvatron..." It's Shockwave. "...Oh.." You strike Zombie Troop with Musket Laser. Zombie Troop misses Subaru Outback with its Claw attack. "Right. Australian." Marissa replies. She has an inkling that Durango is being more defensive than he normally would, and hopes it isn't on her account. "Don't be afraid to go all out, Durango," she comments. The Colonel leans out the window with her rifle and fires in short, concentrated bursts, trying to fill the knee joints of the approaching zombie Transformers with armour piercing rounds. "Lookout! Above!" Then, "Nice driving, Durango!" she compliments as he deals with the zombie Seeker dropping in. The Colonel twists and faces upwards, taking potshots at the zombie Seeker. Marissa Faireborn misses Zombie Troop with her Rifle attack. Shockwave sweeps the beam of his maser around Sinnertwin, carefully outlining him to pick off zombies from around him. Shockwave has the Safety First achievement. Sinnertwin picks himself up and paws at his battered face with a very, very, /very/ sad frown. "I want to go home." Driving had nothing to do with it. Durango chooses to deal with the interloping Decepticon directly. He aims a rocket at it, and fires. Close range be damned! That taken care of, either by distraction or destruction, he alters course towards the subway entrance, following whoever it is that's currently leading the charge in that direction. Foxfire discovers some kind of safe room at the bottom of the stairs. He opens a link to his comrades and transmits, <> "OW!" Fireflight's voice yells from the hole he had dissapeared into. "Oh slag!" And then gunfire from upstairs, before he leaps back out of the building - despite being two stories up - and swings his arms wildly before landing right beside Kup, a few Zombies up above in the hole he had escaped from "... I didnt mean that when I yelled 'fire in the hole' you know." he comments to nobody in particular, firing at the zombies as he moves with Kup, walking backwards. Until he trips. Scrambling to his feet he chooses instead to walk forwards and fire over his shoulder on occasion instead. Fireflight strikes Zombie Troop with Firebloom. Shockwave's last pose: Shockwave sweeps the beam of his maser around Sinnertwin, carefully outlining him to pick off zombies from around him. Shockwave has the Safety First achievement. Sharkticon is still trying to gnaw his way through troops of Zombies, although the last one seemed to have gotten away on him. So he lunges again, trying to bite a Zombie's arm off, or something. Gnaw strikes Zombie Troop with bite. Nnnnngh! Eeerrrhg! Zombies clamber up the walls of the building Shockwave's on now that he's announced himself, but he kicks their heads off as they poke up over the edge. "An underground control center? An intriguing possibility. I will accompany you." Saboteur Foxfire says, "Is the frequency still secure?" Catechism is hard to see, apparently, being bright purple and horrible cyan. Not yet menaced by any of the walking dead, due to playing 'eye in the sky' for much of the fight, she attempts to slip down the subway tunnel, which may well be full of horrible, horrible zombies, so she keeps her weapons charged and primed. If only she had a cricket paddle! Shockwave strikes Zombie Troop with Soccer Kick. Red Alert says, "Unlikely." Saboteur Foxfire says, "All right. I won't use it, then." You move to the Tazma IV - Safehouse. Tazma IV - Safehouse Some kindly people apparently constructed a sanctuary of sorts in the middle of the city. It is a small room with two heavily reinforced doors, openable only by those with enough higher motor functions to know how to operate the latch, and it appears to be immune to most of the smashings and crashings of the zombies, who lurk outside of the room even now. Both doors provide a small window to see outside, and frequently zombies will try to reach in through those windows and claw at your face. It doesn't look like whoever set this place up had much time to provide it with furnishings. There's a table here with some ammo and fuel stockpiled on it, but that's pretty much it. It appears you're not the first ones to use this safehouse, as someone has spraypainted messages all over the walls. Here's some gems: SHOOT THEM IN THE HEAD Parkervale not safe anymore. Tertrax, meet me at the TDRL Powerplant -- Boxx WE ARE BEING PUNNISHED FOR OURE SINS Obvious exits: Down leads to Tazma IV - Subways. Out leads to Tazma IV - Ruined Cities. Catechism arrives from the Tazma IV - Ruined Cities. Catechism has arrived. Fireflight arrives from the Tazma IV - Ruined Cities. Fireflight has arrived. Sinnertwin arrives from the Tazma IV - Ruined Cities. Sinnertwin has arrived. Foxfire arrives from the Tazma IV - Ruined Cities. Foxfire has arrived. Shockwave has arrived. Shockwave jumps off the roof, rocket-braking to land near the others. "I presume you have followed the same clues that we did, Autobots," Shockwave asides to Kup as he heads inside with him. "I do not begrudge your presence here. The local inhabitants attack in a disorganized mass, attracted to sound and motion without regard for other factors. You will serve effectively as targets to spread out their attacks." Durango has arrived. "ARRRGH! ZOMBIES!" Sinnertwin shouts as he runs into the safehouse. "AAARGH! AUTOBOTS!" He spins around and stares out the door. "ZOMBIES!" Then back around. "AUTOBOTS!" This continues for the next five minutes. Kup had just run into the safe room, and was *just* trying to catch his cyber-breath, when he realizes it's not just Autobots and a human in here. "Decepticons!" he growls, raising his musket up at them. "You dirty slaggin' bastards." Shockwave is the first to speak to him, and Kup frowns as he considers his words carefully. "Yeah... alright. Though of course, way I see it, yer the zombie bait and not us. That gonna be a problem for you people?" he asks of the Autobots and Marissa. Foxfire is likely in front of everyone, as he can much easier follow the trail. He perks his ears at the voices behind him, sighing quietly at Sinnertwin's shouting. "That is rational on your part," replies Shockwave coolly. "The identity of the 'bait' is, naturally, relative." Fireflight stumbles in after Kup, limping slightly from a sparking wire on his leg. He freezes as he sees the Decepticons there, no doubt thinking much like Kup (Though with less internal cuss words no doubt), and leans against the wall, moving out of the way. He then stares at Sinnertwin, blinking "Uhm... there's a human too." he points out. Marissa Faireborn figures being able to drive and kill people counts as good driving. She ducks back into Durango in order to reload. The Colonel glances into the back where she has her eneron bazooka stored. Now's not the right time for it, however. "No problem here," Marissa says as she slaps in a new ammo catridge in. Sinnertwin huffs and puffs as he tries to calm himself. He looks at Fireflight and shrugs, "Ehh." But then he looks down at Foxfire.. "...Small..." Foxfire looks up at Sinnertwin, lowering his ears. "Yeah, I'm small. Your point?" Catechism slips into the area, seemingly intend on playing Solid Seeker or something, as she's being much less boisterous and combative than she usually is. Perhaps the situation has simply shaken her up, as if she refuses to really accept what she's seen here and now. She murmurs lowly, "Perhaps we should investigate that powerplant?" She points to some graffiti. Kup nods at Marissa. "Good. 'Course, goes without saying we don't trust these slagging bastards for a second," he says very much within earshot of the Decepticons. "But for now, they're extra guns. Ok... I see somebody left some kinda fuel here..." He lifts up a can of something from the table, and cracks it open. "What the?" Kup says, looking surprised. "It's energon. Gee, Shockwave, it's almost like the Decepticons have been here for some time," he mutters. Sharkticon follows Shockwave and the others into the next area. An arm from one of the zombies is dangling from his jaws. His beady yellow eyes glitter with hunger as he gnaws slowly on the detached limb. Kup then gulps the can down without further ado. Fireflight looks at Foxfire, then Sinnertwin and sighs. THen Gnaw walks in. He stares now, and steps a little further away, gun aimed at the door. Just in case. He then looks to Kup "What's the plan then?" "Tiny," Sinnertwin whispers. "Miniature. Compact. /Travel size/..." He reaches up and grabs the sides of his face, digging his fingers against it and dragging them down. "OHGODICAN'THANDLETHIS." Saboteur Foxfire says, "...I can't remember. Are all Terrorcons stupid?" Fireflight says, "On the other hand, he's not eating anyone.." Fireflight says, "Unlike the Sharkticon.." Saboteur Foxfire says, "True." Catechism turns to Sinnertwin and snaps, "Get a grip on yourself, man! They're just horrible monsters made by science gone awry! It's not like anything actually scary, like /Dinobots/." She tries to reach out to grab the Terrorcon and shake him. Catechism succeeds in grasping Sinnertwin, throwing him off-balance. Fireflight coughs, hiding a snicker at Catechism. Do not laugh in front of Decepticons, at decepticons. Foxfire just stares at Sinnertwin, then Catechism, then sighs and wanders back to his comrades. "I want off this planet." Kup wipes his mouth off with the back of his hand. "I dunno. Was plannin' just to let Foxfire track that scent to wherever it leads. As for that powerplant... eh..." He squints at the graffiti. "The guy who wrote probably thought it would be a safe place. No way 'a tellin' if this subway leads to it, though." Monsters he can handle. You can hit them in the face. Dinobots are easy. You can just run really fast. Tapes..Tapes were different. Tapes were always there, always sneaking around under your feet, ducking between your ankles, brushing up against your knees. They were tiny. They could be anywhere. They were always scheming. Always. Sinnertwin begins sputtering and whimpering when Catechism shakes him like a redheaded step child. Catechism is not aware that Sinnertwin is actually afraid of Foxfire and not the zombies. If she was, she'd be severely confused. She barks, rather like some sadistic drill sergeant in boot, "Focus man, focus! There might be a Matrix out here, and we need to find it for..." she glances over at Kup, "...for the good of the Transformer species." Clearly. "We don't know about the powerplant - we don't really know /anything/ here." Marissa Faireborn's rifle is ready to go for another round. The Colonel follows the conversation from within the Autbot SUV as the Decepticons and Autobots 'get along with one another'. Science gone awry. Typical Decepticon crap. She keeps the natural retort she would have given in check, though, for the sake of not getting everyone killed. Marissa agrees with Kup - there's no trusting Decepticons. "That is classified information," replies Shockwave to Kup. He does not take one of the fuel cans. He has his reactor. "I admit that I have not been here very much longer than the rest of you. I am uncertain of the details of the city layout myself. However, if there was a plan to meet at the power plant, or at 'parkervale,' it stands to reason those locations may have survivors, and therefore more information about our true objective, which I believe we can all concur is the Matrix of Leadership." Fireflight glances to Kup then, his laughing fit ended. He then nods and looks back at the door "... If I go fast enough, I could probalby hit the skies and do a scout for the power plant. From above I could probably tell if it was attacked or not." he notes. Focus. Focus. Focus. Sinnertwin tries to think about something else. He thinks about eating. He thinks about sinking his teeth into...into..He looks around. Okay, he thinks about sinking his teeth into Fireflight. The Terrorcon manages to stiffle his sobs and calm down. "Y-yes, sir," he mumbles to..Catechism. Foxfire sniffs around some more. "The scent is still strong...but I've also got the scent of those zombies outside. It's drifting in here...ugh..." Kup spots a zombie reaching its arms in through the door to the next room, and punches its face in through the window. "I dunno about that, Fireflight. This next section's underground. But if you wanna check out that power plant, go ahead. But do it from the air only. It's the only way you'll avoid gettin' swamped by these bastards. Then maybe if I'm feelin' nice we'll let the Decepticons know what we found there. Well. We better get going. Yeah, I know, Foxfire. It's gotta be rough. But we gotta keep pressin' on." Kup removes a makeshift latch on the door made out a plumbing pipe, and throws it to the ground. Then, he kicks the door open into the next area. Loading... You move to the Tazma IV - Subways. Tazma IV - Subways A dark and lengthy system of subway tunnels, leading to who knows where. It may be safer than going above ground, but judging from how badly infested it is with zombies, that may not be saying much. The area is barely lit in gloomy emergency lights, and derailed subway cars occasionally block the tracks, making navigation of the terrain very difficult. There is a bit of hope, though. Someone was helpful enough to spraypaint more signs leading to the next safehouse. Obvious exits: Tunnel Out leads to Tazma IV - Safehouse II. Up leads to Tazma IV - Safehouse. Marissa Faireborn arrives from the Tazma IV - Safehouse. Marissa Faireborn has arrived. Foxfire arrives from the Tazma IV - Safehouse. Foxfire has arrived. Gnaw arrives from the Tazma IV - Safehouse. Gnaw has arrived. (Note: At this point Fireflight and Catechism split off to investigate the power plant.) Marissa Faireborn hops out of Durango's driver (right) side now that the trek has gone underground. The Colonel walks past the table and looks at the graffiti someone sprayed here. He wonders what happened to them all. "Any idea what sins they're talking about?" she asks. "Decepticons have never struck me as the sort who want forgiveness for their actions." She then follows the others into the subway systems. Shockwave arrives from the Tazma IV - Safehouse. Shockwave has arrived. Fireflight arrives from the Tazma IV - Safehouse. Fireflight has arrived. You drop Zombie Troop. Catechism arrives from the Tazma IV - Safehouse. Catechism has arrived. Kup steps out onto a stairway. Everywhere zombies are milling about aimlessly. Kup pulls out his musket and starts capping them one by one. BEFORE kup locks the door, Flight nods and straightens. Inhaling carefully, he pushes the door open, transforms, and dissapears outside in a blaze of engines to raise higher than the Zombies could go. Obvious exits: Tunnel Out leads to Tazma IV - Safehouse II. Up leads to Tazma IV - Safehouse. Sinnertwin arrives from the Tazma IV - Safehouse. Sinnertwin has arrived. XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her body, and her wings rotate into position at her hips. Kup says, "Take 'em out before they realize you're there." Fireflight says, "Can you hear me Kup? I want to make sure the radio will still reach you... Understood." Kup says, "Yeah, I hear ya." Saboteur Foxfire says, "Shouldn't be hard..." Foxfire snarls at the sight of the zombies. He crouches like a predator ready to pounce, then lunges, snapping his jaws at a zombie as he attempts to latch onto it. Foxfire strikes Zombie Troop with Bite. "Any thoughts on the best way to incapacitate them?" Marissa asks as she begins blasting at the zombies as they mill about aimlessly. The Colonel stands by Kup's left leg, using it as cover. Hopefully the old timer won't step on her by accident, though. XF-35B Astral Lightning isn't actually in the subway. She's really up in the air, doing more 'eye in the sky' work. It'll be hard to radio those down in the subway, due to interference, but it's good to have someone topside to keep tabs on zombie movements... and to be left alive to relay the message that the others never made it back, if it comes to that. It just might. Kup growls as he puts a laser blast right between a zombie's eyes, "In all my experience fightin' zombies, one lesson's always done me well. And that's aim for the head." Fireflight rises as high as possible, instantly forgetting about Catechism if she was following him. He glides about, starting on long distance scans first as he circles outwards, seeking out what might look like a Powerplant. Fireflight says, "Beginning search patterns now. I wonder what this planet looked like before all of this..." Sinnertwin pulls his grenade launcher out and prepares to unleash a fusillade of DESTRUCTION upon the zombies, but watching Foxfire do anything send him into a dizzy spell. He faints. The Sharkticon once again finds himself surrounded in yummy food. Well, at least he thinks so. Everybody with half a processor knows Zombies are just empty minerals. Gnaw misses Zombie Troop with his claw attack. Saboteur Foxfire says, "...Apparently I made Sinnertwin faint. Huh." "Head it is," Marissa says. She readjusts her aim and begins shooting the zombies in the noggin. Movies had always told her that zombies couldn't be stopped unless you physically prevented them from being able to move (ie, blow off all their limbs), but those movies didn't have /robot/ zombies so it's a whole different ball game. Marissa Faireborn misses Zombie Troop with her Rifle attack. Shockwave methodically caps zombies in the dome. Pop, pop, pop. Shockwave has a high headshot percentage. Shockwave strikes Zombie Troop with Ultraviolet. Durango says, "Ah'm gyne ta look fah sahm sahpplies," his dialect rendering what he said almost unintelligible. Thus, no one knows exactly what he's up to, leaving him free to wander off from the main group. This, by the way, is always a bad idea in a zombie apocalypse, and the instant he's out of view of the others SOMETHING snakes a long, disgusting tongue around his torso and pulls him off to Primus knows where. "Ah, shaht!" Durango cries. Will he survive!? Well, yes, but he'll be horribly injured in the process. XF-35B Astral Lightning can't see Sinnertwin faint, which is good, because she's have to smack him if she did. She isn't exactly following Fireflight, though she does keep tabs on his location in the air. She doesn't want him running into her! It's a bit odd to share airspace with an Aerialbot and not shoot at him, but zombies make life difficult in so many unexpected ways. Hmm, powerplant. Is it over here? The fliers should notice a very large structure, which certainly fits the description of a power plant, on the outskirts of the city. Its lights appear to be on, and the roads leading to it appear to be barricaded. Badly, anyway--something smashed those barricades aside. Fireflight banks sharply, clipping a few dangling wires from a telephone pole on the way as he weaves btween two tall powerline-towers, streaking closer to the Powerplant. He slows, almost hovering right over it as he scans it carefully... Then circles lower - not too low of course, but he carefully does so, trying to see inside windows. Shockwave notices Durango wander off but doesn't care. Pop, pop, shooting zombie heads. Fireflight says, "I found what appears to be a power plant! Searching for non-zombified lifeforms.." Kup scowls at Shockwave as he makes seemingly effortless headshots. Hax, obviously. "Alright, that's the last of 'em. Let's move on." Moving down the stairs, Kup wanders down into the rail lines. "Geeeze. What a fraggin' mess," he says, looking at a derailed subway car. Foxfire hurries after Kup. He slinks along the side of the derailed train, examining it closely. "What in the world happened to this place...?" "Evidently the process was not instantaneous," says Shockwave in his dry, pedantic way, "but rather a healthy population rapidly overwhelmed. There are many signs of resistance and normal infrastructure and social behaviors interrupted." Zombie Troop mills about in this area, too. However, there's a very very special zombie down here. It almost got Sinnertwin previously. Yes, it's the bloated, fat zombie! And just as Kup and Foxfire clear a corner, it tries to barf all over the little tape! Zombie Troop strikes Foxfire with Smash. Oh, no! After the fat zombie barfed on Foxfire, dozens of zombies are making a mad dash for him to beat his face in! Saboteur Foxfire says, "GROSS!" Saboteur Foxfire says, "...AHHH!" Grimlock has arrived. Foxfire is covered in zombie barf! "This is DISGUSTING!" he complains as he lifts up a paw, making a face at the slimy sustance dripping from it. As more zombies rush at him, he crouches again, alarmed, ears lowered and tail raised. "KUP, HELP!" "Good plan," Marissa tells Durango, knowing that this is the only way to get him out of the scene. Marissa is having difficulty drawing a bead on the zombies. While she's liable to hit /someone/ in the crowd, getting head shots is easier said than done. Except for Shockwave, of course, but Shockwave's a dick. "Don't you guys have communications on this planet?" she asks the walking calculator in between shots. "So they could call for help once all this starts going down?" "Something is interfering with long-range communications," replies Shockwave. "There is a great deal of radio static here that I have not yet identified." Fireflight says, "Foxfire??" Saboteur Foxfire says, "THEY'RE AFTER ME!@" Shockwave just walks through the zombie swarm as it rushes for Foxfire and keeps on going. It doesn't even notice him. They're frenzied by the fat-zombie puke! The aerialbot may notice someone desperately pounding on a window at the powerplant, and looking imploringly at Fireflight. And even with the sounds of battle and zombie groaning (and barfing), a voice can be heard somewhere distant- and muffled. "HEY! HEY! WHAT HAPPEN!? ME GRIMLOCK KNOW YOU OUT THERE!" Marissa Faireborn says, "Kup, can you get to Foxfire?" Kup says, "Yes! I'll try and help him! And I think I hear Grimlock!" Shockwave is not going to get Back 2 Help anytime soon, clearly. Kup snarls as he launches himself in a diving tackle at the zombies swarming Foxfire, trying to knock them off like bowling pins. "Get offa him!" he yells. You have set the custom name for attack smash in mode 1 to "Tackle." You strike Zombie Troop with Tackle. Marissa Faireborn says, "I think the /entire planet/ hears Grimlock." Kup says, "That's what I'm afraid of!" The Sharkball finds his prey is not going down so easy...either inside him, or outside. So he takes a run at them, rolling into a ball and barreling forward towards the swarming mass of undead (?) robots. Zombie 4, corner pocket? As if Gnaw knows how to play Pool. Saboteur Foxfire still sounds stunned. "Y-yeah...hard to...*not* hear 'im..." Fireflight says, "/I/ didnt hear him..." Gnaw strikes Zombie Troop with crush. Shockwave's head swivels this way and that at the sound. Hmm. If the zombies got Grimlock that would be ideal... but no, that's extremely unlikely. Grimlock could walk the length and breadth of this city with zombies hanging off of him and remain more or less unharmed. He must just be trapped or lost. Shockwave heads off towards the sound, opening closet doors. Foxfire stares with wide optics as Kup tackles the zombies. "Kup...!" He shakes himself, attempting to free himself of the grotesque substance covering him. "Thanks!" He is still clearly frightened, and attempting to stay away from the zombies even as Kup handles them. Fireflight says, "I see someone!" Marissa Faireborn doesn't get an answer but she figures it's rhetorical anyway. Decepticons aren't all that big on safety procedures anyway. When the Colonel sees Foxfire get swarmed by vomiting zombies, she begins focusing her fire in that direction, though she has to be careful to avoid striking either Kup or the Cassettibot. She wishes she hadn't let Durango leave with her bazooka. The combination of pool, bowling, and skeet shooting appears to be too much for the zombies swarming Foxfire, and they are all promptly knocked off of him, with just a few stragglers here and there. But it's not over yet! Just as Shockwave opens the closet containing Grimlock, a zombified Seeker sneaks around a pillar and tries to pounce the military commander! Fireflight says, "He looks ilke he's in trouble... doesnt look like a Zombie.." Fireflight banks sharply, coming closer... now dangerously close as he banks past the window a second time, then up and around, scanning the rooftop overhead. Then he drops his nosecone - forgoeing telling the others about THIS. He likes getting yelled at for being stupid in one neat package, not in several small packages. Transforming, he lands hard on the roof, rolling into it and scraping up his armor. Zombie Troop misses Shockwave with its Punch attack. Saboteur Foxfire says, "Eck...nasty...who do you see, Fireflight?" Fireflight grunts "A robot. I dont recognise him. Gonna try a second flyby and stuff... There's some loud screaming down below in the powerplant! Is it coming from the survivor... or the zombies? "Hellloooooo?! Me Grimlock stuck in here!" And some pounding commences- should one look, the pounding seems to be coming from...behind an abandoned subway. "Stupid train get in me way!" Kup nods at Foxfire. "No problem, lad." Then, he gives Marissa an odd look. "Ya know... I ain't seen them attack you, yet, Colonel. I dunno if that's because yer organic, or because you ain't makin' enough noise to draw 'em to ya." Shockwave spins towards the sudden 'EEEEEEEEAGH' the Seeker lets out as it comes rushing towards him, cocks back his right hand, and slams it in the face as it's mid-leap. It staggers back and he blasts it twice in the chest, leaving it smoking against a wall. Shockwave has achieved Jump Shot. Shockwave strikes Zombie Troop with Infrared. Red Alert risks a comment on an unsecure frequency. "You've been spotted, Fireflight." Foxfire paws at an ear. "I think it might *be* because Marissa's organic. They only seem interested in us mechs." He abruptly blinks at Grimlock's voice. "...Uh. Should we let him in?" Kup says, "Ehm, we're, ah, kinda sorta workin' with the Decepticons. For now." "Maybe I should walk on into them and see if they crush me," Marissa says jokingly. She then pauses awkwardly. She coughs, "Yeah, let Grimlock in. If he's been turned into a zombie then we're all screwed anyway." "The human contains no fuel," says Shockwave, scanning around for anywhere else Grimlock might be. He wasn't in that supply closet after all. Fireflight flinches at the sound and first, runs to the edge where the window was, peering down. He keeps his gun in his hands, somewhat nervous now as he tries to lean over enough to see in the window without actually falling over the side. Red Alert says, "... Ah. One of those. Yes, sir." Fireflight says, "I... I know I've been spotted. Wait. Spotted by WHO?" Kup says, "And Fireflight, if that guy's still alive, try to save him." Fireflight says, "BREAK THE WINDOW!" Fireflight shouts that down. Red Alert says, "Fireflight: by Catechism." There's a very loud smashing noise at the powerplant, and glass falls out the side of it. XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms and lands on the roof with considerably greater grace. She inquires of the Aerialbot, "Now what are you up to, Autobot? Do you think there might be a scource of information inside? I mean.,.. a survivor?" She static-coughs. XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her shoulders to expose her face, and her wings rotate into position. Fireflight keeps his optics below and nods. He then takes a risky move, stepping onto the edge, then glances at Catechism, scowling a little "I'm busy! Ask me later!" he notes, urgency in his voice as he jumps off the edge and falls... LAnding with a hard crash below. Dropping to ak nee, he aims his weapon up "Jump out! I'm down here and I can fly us out!" he calls up. Fireflight says, "I'm going to try to fly him out of here... I hope he's the only one... Err, that is, so I dont leave others behind.." Kup chuckles at Marissa. "Yeah, that's one experiment we probably shouldn't try. Now let's go find Grimlock." Stomping deeper into the subways, he calls out, "GRIMLOCK! Where the frag are ya?" Finally, Shockwave opens the RIGHT door- (Maybe he had a chess piece or a jewel or something-) and out comes Grimlock! Or, rather, out comes Grimlock's double-blaster, which he promptly shoves into Shockwave's face. "Hnnn. You no Kup!...You no zombie guy, either. You Shockwave tell me Grimlock what happen, or me splode you face!' Foxfire points his paw. "I think he's behind the train--" A pause. "...Oh. There he is." He bounds over. "Grimlock! Good thing you're here! Hey, can you bash these zombies for us?" "The Autobots are that way," replies Shockwave coolly, pointing behind himself. "They will be gratified to see you. They have arrived seeking the Matrix of Leadership and, as we did, discovered the planet is overrun with zombies." Marissa Faireborn opens her mouth to point out to Grimlock that Shockwave has no face, but then figures that isn't going to help anything right now and so keeps it to herself. "Next time we fight those buggers I'll pay more attention to whether they notice me or not," she promises. "If we need someone to head back and get the shuttle or something I might be the best one to go if that's the case." o/~ DUNNN. DUN DUN! DUNNN. DUN DUN! o/~ The ground in the subway starts shaking like crazy, and something is making a horrible, throaty roar. Eh, it's probably nothing, right? Saboteur Foxfire says, "Did...did anyone else hear that?" Catechism scowls as Fireflight says he's busy and then jumps off a roof. She shouts after him, "If you're so busy, you could let me know with /what/, and I might be able to help!" Help the Autobots all the way to the Matrix, grab it, and run. She jumps over the side of roof, too. She have anti-gravs. No worries here! Back at the powerplant, meanwhile, a robotic figure jumps out... followed by a swarm of zombies! "Oh. Hnn." Grimlock says, and glances past Shockwave. "So this one of them times we no fight 'cuz of other stuff? Hnn." and he shoves his way past Shockwave- and glances around. "Hey Kup! Me Grimlock get, uh...lost before." he says. "Train get in-" And then there's the matter of the big roar, and Grimlock pauses. "...That not me Grimlock." he notes. "Fine! Shoot those zombies so we can get a survivor!" Fireflight directs Catechism. Then he runs to where the guy was, firing at the zombies. He transforms, rolling up alongside him "Jump on and hold on with a DEATH GRIP." he coaches urgently, feeling a slight pain on his tailfin. The moment the mech was secured, he hits his afterburners, leaping forwards just ahead of the zombies, spoilers lifting the aerialbot up as steeply as he dared with this heavy load. Fireflight says, "I have him! *FWOOSH of afterburners* pleasedontbefastzombies.." Kup nods at Marissa. "That's some good thinkin'. Wouldn't wanna have to backtrack through all this slag." Then he appears behind Shockwave's shoulder. "Uh, yeah, nice to meet you Grimlock. Yeah, we're working with him for now." Then he frowns at hearing the shaking noise. "Uh. No. And I don't think there's any other Dino's here... oh geeze..." Gnaw continues to plow through the Zombies, chomping and chomping like a little spikey Pac-Man on a Power Pellet. *Wakka wakka wakka wakka...bloop bloop* Gnaw misses Zombie Troop with his drain attack. Shockwave rotates towards the sound. His chest glows as he pumps his reactor and raises his cannon arm. "It is something new. Prepare yourselves." Foxfire waves his paw, gesturing for everyone to be quiet. He perks his ears, listening closely. "Doesn't *sound* like any of the Dinobots..." He digs his claws into the ground, feeling the shaking. "I'm gonna see if I can find out what that is." He starts to head deeper into the subway. Marissa Faireborn nods to Grimlock, "Yeah one of those times again." She's long since gotten used to it. It took many years for it to happen, though. Suddenly there's shaking, and Marissa grips her rifle again. She isn't planning on shooting, though. She's planning on testing that theory of Kup's. Kup yells, "No, Foxfire, don't split away from the group!" But it's already too late! Foxfire runs right into a MASSIVE zombified Decepticon, running towards him, and using its forearms like a gorilla's as it moves. It looks much like a recolored version of Brawl, albeit pumped with steroids. "GRAAAAHHHHH!" it screams, throwing a wild but heavy punch at the tape. Zombie Troop misses Foxfire with its Blade attack. Grimlock hnnns, and follows after the others- he glances around with impassive eyes at the zombiefied crowds- occasionally snapping off the occasional laser blast at an inconveniently plased bad-guy. "Hnnn. Me Grimlock no think matrix on this planet." he says, slamming a new energy battery into his gun. "Just sayin'." Grimlock strikes Zombie Troop with Zappo!. Catechism shoots at the zombies, as instructed. She has fairly good aim, though she looks over at Fireflight and mutters, "That death grip may be truer than you know..." What id that 'victim' is infected, about to begin a horrible transformation? Catechism strikes Zombie Troop with Taser. "Your contribution is noted," replies Shockwave, who has his own theories. He backpedals swiftly from Foxfire, shooting at the monster's head. Shockwave strikes Zombie Troop with Ultraviolet. Back at the powerplant, the survivor nods and desperately hangs on for dear life. Zombies drop off after Fireflight and the survivor, but Catechism's and Fireflight's combined firepower makes short work of most of them. Fireflight lifts off slowly, wobbling a little in midair. He focuses though on flying as he starts up into the sky "... I dont know of any safe places to land." he reports then "so we'll stay up here... " he tips a little, to keep near Catechism, too loaded to do much maneuvering or shooting "What happened here??" Foxfire yelps and ducks away form the zombie that attacks him, scurrying back to the others. "Okay, bad idea!" Catechism transforms and tails after Fireflight. She replies with a snort, "What happened here? Ask your new buddy!" Fireflight errrs "I /was/ asking him." he notes. XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her body, and her wings rotate into position at her hips. Fireflight says, "I have the survivor safe... ish. I'm staying up in the air though. The Powerplant is, obviously, Not Safe." A new swarm of regular zombies charges towards the Transformers, and Kup turns and begins firing on them. However, they run right by Marissa, though they don't seem to try and avoid stepping on her, either. Meanwhile, the tank appears to have identified Grimlock as the toughest guy in the area, and charges right at him, aiming to knock him down with a shoulder. It is hit in the head by Shockwave's blast, and that causes it to catch on fire. Zombie Troop misses Grimlock with its Blade attack. "Me Marissa starting to agree with Grimlock about the Matrix!" Marissa calls out as Foxfire runs into zombie issues. Luckily Grimlock is there to blast them away, and Foxfire ducks. "Kup's right, we've got to stick together. The next person to say something along the lines of 'lets splti up, gang', gets a-" the Colonel is cut off, however, as more zombies swarm in. She raises her rifle, but forces herself not to fire. Lets test out that theory. It is a tense moment with clenched teeth as the zombies... run right past her, not even slowing down. She has to tuck and roll to the side to avoid getting trampled, in fact, but it's clear they don't care about her. Back at the powerplant, the survivor rambles something about, "Madmind!" and "He... did it all! With his evil device!" What's this? Poor little Shark no get breakfast today? Yup, looks like the Zombies snatched themselves right out of Gnaw's mouth. The disappointd Sharkticon lashes out with his tail. Gnaw strikes Zombie Troop with slash. Shockwave has achieved Towering Inferno. You strike Zombie Troop with Musket Laser. Shockwave sidesteps, taking cover behind a subway roof pillar to fire at the flaming tank-zombie's back while he takes a radio message. Fireflight twitches his wings "Where is he now? What device? " he asks, trying to keep his voice calm "Just calm down. I wont let you get eaten by them." he promises. "Haw haw haw! You zombie DUMB!" Grimlock neatly palms the Brawl-zombie's forehead, halting its charge! "Me Grimlock smash you now!" he says- and just *SQUEEEZES* down on it. Gotta aim for the head, right? "Kup!" Grimlock yells, tossing the Brombie aside. "Me Grimlock no like this planet!" Shockwave strikes Zombie Troop with Ultraviolet. Fireflight says, "He's saying Madmind did this... with his 'device'." Grimlock strikes Zombie Troop with SMOOSH. XF-35B Astral Lightning flies alongside Fireflight, easily keeping pace and matching him move for move. She's trained for it. She encourages, voice soft and oddly lulling, "Yes, where might this device be?" Kup yells, "I know, Grimlock, I'm not a big fan of it either!" as he backs up deeper into the subways. "Look!" he says, pointing at some graffiti leading into a sideroom. "Must be another safehouse up ahead, let's keep moving, people!" He waits at the entrance, capping zombies as he waits for the others to get in. The tank stumbles towards Grimlock as it takes a potshot in the back, and manages to get grabbed on the head. As insanely powerfuly as it is, its cranium isn't quite strong enough to withstand that much pressure. It lets out a low groan as its head caves in. Foxfire's turbofox instincts want him to flee. He ignores them. "No splitting up from me!" he remarks to Marissa. "I learned not to do that the hard way!" Marissa Faireborn slowly lowers her rifle as the zombies fail to go after her. Either they don't consider her a threat, or, more likely, they don't care about organics. "What's the plan here, Kup?" she calls out. "Are we getting out of here or what?" She jogs to keep up with the others, and despite the horrible situation they're all in, can't help but grin at Foxfire. Fireflight says, "Ugh. Whatever he tells me, this Decepticon is going to hear too. She's right beside me." The survivor Fireflight saved says, "It... he called it a Matrix! Said it would keep us from dying, forever. But this isn't what we were thinking of! It was a curse, not a blessing! Everyone that died rose up and tried to kill more people! It was a never-ending cycle... and you want to know where that bastard is? He's up there, in the top floor of that hospital!" He points off in the distance at a towering structure. Kup says, "Eh, that's the least of our worries." Fireflight says, "Madmind is in the hospital!" Kup says, "Then that's where we're going!" Fireflight says, "Want me to go that way? I have a feeling the Con is gonna be making tracks.." Fireflight says, "And I dunno if my passenger will want to go that way.." Fireflight grunts a little, murmering into his radio as he banks slowly towards the Hospital, starting to circle closer to see what might be visible from there. THen he states softly "Good intentions lead to hell..." almost to himself. THen he asks "I dont think you personally want to go and face him. Is there a safe place I can put you down?" Shockwave heads for the safehouse before the tank zombie has even stopped moving, as soon as Kup points it out. Kup squints at a nearby subway sign, then he says to Marissa, "We keep followin' this route! It'll lead us to this hospital, I think. Everyone, let's get inside!" Kup says, "The Autobot shuttle should still hangin' around in the stratosphere. Maybe you can drop 'im off there." Fireflight says, "I can also take you up to our Shuttle... you will be safe there I know." Fireflight moves to the Tazma IV - Safehouse II. Fireflight has left. Shockwave moves to the Tazma IV - Safehouse II. Shockwave has left. You move to the Tazma IV - Safehouse II. Tazma IV - Safehouse II This room is much like the last safehouse. Another table is set up here with more ammo and supplies, and the solid steel doors helpfully keep out the clawing zombies, however much they try to reach in through the windows, and even through small holes in the walls. There's a few more spraypainted ramblings and advice from some of the previous occupants of this place: YOUR ALL GOIN TO DIE The Decepticons said they would save us, but they caused this! THEIR IS NO HOAP. NUKE THE PLANIT FROM ORBET Contents: Shockwave Fireflight Obvious exits: Alley to Hospital leads to Tazma IV - Hospital. Subway Tunnel leads to Tazma IV - Subways. Catechism arrives from the Tazma IV - Subways. Catechism has arrived. Foxfire arrives from the Tazma IV - Subways. Foxfire has arrived. Red Alert says, "Beware treachery, Autobots. Shockwave just gave the order to fire on Fireflight if he interferes." Fireflight says, "Interferes in WHAT exactly?" Kup says, "Probably meaning that once they make their move for the Matrix, they'll shoot you in the back." Red Alert says, "An attempt to investigate the Matrix in the top floor of a hospital, apparently." Fireflight says, "Well, if anything I'm relatively sure that this matrix will not help them one bit..." XF-35B Astral Lightning murmurs, voice ghoulishly low, "My, my, eternal life a curse? Who would have thought /that/?" It's only in the mythology of almost every species. Then, in a very flat voice, she intones, "You won't be taking him to your shuttle, Aerialbot. The Deception Empire, which, even now, is assisting your comrades, requires what he knows. Keep a level flight pattern if you value your hide." Marissa Faireborn arrives from the Tazma IV - Subways. Marissa Faireborn has arrived. Foxfire sniffs around some more. "Scent's still strong..." "I wouldnt call this 'eternal life', Catechism." Fireflight responds, starting to slowly gain in altitude, until he was slightly above her "I can't let this mech get hurt though. Leave him out of it." he states. "I just want to get him to safety. You know probably just as much as I know about what's going on." Grimlock stomps in after everyone else, tossing an errant Huffer-repaint zombie to the side, where it hits the wall with a *CRUNCH!* and goes still. "Hnnn. These guys no so tough." he muses, glancing around. "How come all you so scared?" Kup gasps as he leans up against the table in the room. Spying a fresh tin can full of energon, he swipes it and guzzles it all the way down. "Ahhhh. Refreshin'. Yeah, and good work trackin' this guy, Foxfire. We're probably close." Fireflight states grimly "The Decepticon says she's not going to let me get the Survivor to our shuttle. Kup huffs, "I ain't scared. I've killed bucketloads of zombies in my day." Red Alert sounds disgusted. "Typical." Kup says, "Damn! Try to talk some sense into 'er. What do they need the guy for, anyway?" Fireflight says, ".. .on the other hand, it means she has to follow ME instead of running to the hospital." "The other Autobots are not as durable as yourself and Kup," Shockwave points out to Grimlock as he reads the walls briefly and pops a few zombies reaching through the bars in the window of the opposite door. Fireflight says, "Information. What else?" The surivor carried by Fireflight mutters, "Madmind used to be such a nice mechanoid..." XF-35B Astral Lightning BAMS on her afterburners, shooting up after Fireflight, and a targeting reticle appears on the screen in her cockpit. In that very flat voice, she continues, "If you continue to try to flee, I will kill you, Aerialbot. Now, resume a level flight pattern. I will not warn you again." "I think it's the vast numbers and the possibility that our shuttle has been ripped apart by the zombies, thus trapping us here forever until we either starve, die of thrist, succumb to the elements, or get eaten by zombies when we're too weak to fight back," Marissa explains to Grimlock as they run. "Of course I suppose in a Transformer's case it wouldn't really be within a matter of days but it'd probably take hundreds or thousands of years or so." Marissa Faireborn says, "But hey, lets hope they send a rescue ship just in case." Fireflight growls a little and levels out, though he does not sink again towards it. "You know where this guy is, AND whatever it is he's using. What else do you want to know? This guy's TERRIFIED and in no condition to answer any more questions I think!" Fireflight states irritably, drifting away from the Hospital - mostly to avoid tall buildings around it. "Let me get him to safety, then we can go and find Madmind together." he tries again Fireflight says, "get there soon bots..." Kup crushes the can in his hands. "Shockwave, I'm hearin' that yer flunkie is makin' life hard on the Aerialbot. Now, considerin' yer in here by yerself, I'd say it'd be logical for ya to tell her to play nice, wouldn't it?" Kup glances at Gnaw. "Well, ok, you got a Sharkticon with you. That don't change much, though." Grimlock hmmms, and takes up a cannister of energon, sipping at it. "Hmm. Who leave all this stuff 'round?" he asks. "Is useful." he hmmms, and glances out at the approaching zombies- idly tearing the arm off of one grabby hand. "So we get new spaceship, is all." he notes with his typical simplicity. "Considering that I am capable of space flight under my own power, and that unlike you, I am willing to leave my troops behind, it would be logical for me to point out that you are in the more vulnerable position," replies Shockwave, opening the far door and stepping out into the area beyond which he's just cleared of stragglers. Shockwave moves to the Tazma IV - Hospital. Shockwave has left. "Well worst case scenario," Marissa replies to Grimlock. "It's also possible that the zombies are entirely uninterested in eating shuttles and it's perfectly fine back where we left it. Lets hope for the best on that, ok?" Kup frowns. "They should still be alright. I hope so, anyway...." Marissa Faireborn moves to the Tazma IV - Hospital. Marissa Faireborn has left. Grimlock moves to the Tazma IV - Hospital. Grimlock has left. Fireflight moves to the Tazma IV - Hospital. Fireflight has left. You move to the Tazma IV - Hospital. Tazma IV - Hospital A sterile environment, much like a cross between a hospital for humans and a high-tech mechanic's workshop. Here, patients used to be healed of their wounds on medical tables, and perhaps even experimented on. Not all of the equipment here appears to have solely been medical use, here. Sleakly waxed floors lead down long hallways with numerous side rooms. And at the top floor, there awaits a far more impressive facility. Obvious exits: Penthouse leads to Tazma IV - Madmind's Throne Room. Alley to Safehouse II leads to Tazma IV - Safehouse II. You move to the Tazma IV - Madmind's Throne Room. Tazma IV - Madmind's Throne Room A brooding, dark place, lit by the green glow of various diagnostic terminals. Like the facilities below, there are numerous tables and examination devices. Lined up against the walls appears to be ranks of Transformer-scale test tubes, and through the murky liquids within you just might be able to catch a glimpse of something moving. The room also has a bit of a view, though a dubious one, thanks to some reinforced windows that overlook the darkened city. In the center of the room, on a raised dais that looks almost like a giant sitting down, there sits the Decepticon Madmind, sitting on his peculiar throne. Contents: Fireflight Marissa Faireborn Grimlock Shockwave Vial Obvious exits: Elevator Down leads to Tazma IV - Hospital. Gnaw arrives from the Tazma IV - Hospital. Gnaw has arrived. Foxfire arrives from the Tazma IV - Hospital. Foxfire has arrived. Several minutes later, Kup is about to follow everyone else into the throne room when suddenly something snakes around his waist and pulls him away! "NOOOOO!" Kup cries, but it's too late to help him, as the door into the penthouse seals shut behind you, and it refuses to open, even by Dino-Violence! Only way to go, now... "HEY!" Grimlock growls, stomping after Shockwave. "You Shockwave no leave! Me Grimlock CRUSH YOU if you do!" - The dinobot doggedly (dino-ly?) follows after the decepticon- this isn't the first time he's growled such threats at him, either. Every now and then, Grimlock will put down another zombie, but it seems he's more concerned with yelling at Decepticons. It's more fun, even. But then- "No! KUP!" and yes, Dino-violence ensues as Grimlock punches the wall, and snarls! "Hnnn...Me Grimlock in charge now!" he decrees. Fireflight says, "*Sometime later* Ok, he's safe on the shuttle. I'm giong to check out the hospital now... I'll be there in a few... *grumbles * Aching wings..." "KUP!" Foxfire bolts to the door and starts scratching at it desperately. "KUP! KUP!" After a few moments, when the door doesn't open, he pushes on it slightly with his front paws, but as expected, nothing happens. "Kup..." Saboteur Foxfire says, "Kup...KUP!" Shockwave gets to the roof before the Autobots (except for Grimlock) since he can simply fly up from the alley to the roof directly. "Silence. This area shows signs of recent activity. There is someone still here." Gnaw transforms and waddles after Shockwave. Gnaw transforms into his robot mode. "Kup!" Marissa shouts as their fierceless leader is snared and yanked away. She runs up to the door, but it's sealed. "Kup! Can you hear me!" Silence greets her, and Grimlock quickly assumes command. The Colonel stares in the direction of where Kup was taken from them. She's had to leave soldiers behind before, but it's always painful. A diminutive figure sits on an odd-looking throne, in the shape of a squatting giant, in the middle of the room, his red optics glowering at the new arrivals. "Who dares disturb me, the great scientist Vial?" Foxfire drops back down to all fours and whips around, staring at the figure. "We're looking for 'Madmind'--the trail led us here." He pauses, then asks, "Vial--are you him? Are *you* Madmind?" Grimlock hmmms, and wheels around to glance down the length of the throne room- Kup's plight is ignored for now- the old veteran can take care of himself. "Me Grimlock dare!" he snarls in answer, leveling his blaster at the scientist. "You science guy tell us where zombies come from!" a pause, and he glances around. "And tell us where spaceship is, too!" Vial points a scrawny finger down at Foxfire. "*Do not* refer to me by that insulting moniker in my presence, you Autobot *worm.* Pfah." He raises a brow at Grimlock, next. "Oh, the "zombies?" They are the result of an experiment which... alas... to my deep regret..." He sighs heavily. "Failed. As for your shuttle, I am sure it is fine, that is, if the Hunters haven't killed the pilot." Gnaw doesn't really understand what is going on here so he just stands there looking menacing. Foxfire snarls at Vial. "I'll call you whatever I like! 'Madmind' was the name we were given!" "I, Shockwave, dare," says Shockwave as he enters just after Grimlock by simply smashing through one of the reinforced floor-to-ceiling windows. "If you wish to survive you will do three things: Explain yourself. Tell me what you know of the Matrix of Leadership. Satisfactorily excuse what you have done here." Marissa Faireborn taps Grimlock's ankle. "We know where the spaceship is," she whispers discreetly while she eyes this Vial twit carefully. "We just don't know if it's in the same condition that we left it in." Grimlock pauses, and looks down at Marissa- and then to Vial. "Oh." he grunts. "Well, uh...me Grimlock can fly spaceship, so-" he pauses, however, as Shockwave speaks up with actual quetions. "Uhhh. What he said!" a pause. "And where him Kup!?" Vial hisses at Foxfire. "You try my patience, little fool. Oh, and Shockwave! *Mighty* Shockwave." He sneers at the larger Decepticon. "I need not answer to you, but I haven't spoken to anyone in so long, so I may as well. There is no Matrix of Leadership here, but there is *a* Matrix here. The Matrix of Everlasting Life, and it is within me. You see, Shockwave, you and your ilk never sufficiently supported my research programs. Called me mad, you did. So, I took my most loyal assistants, and simply moved my base of operations here. Here, I could continue my studies into Matrix energies unhindered." Vial gives the Dinobot a shrug. "I'm sorry, who?" Grimlock snarls. "Kup! Him Kup am me Grimlock friend! Something behind that door grab him!" he points to the sealed door...and then looks back at Vial. "...Matrix of whatnow? That...mean you Vial no die?" Vial nods, staring at the tips of his fingers casually, as if he was examining his nails. "Hm, yes, I cannot die, that is correct. Which is why, if you were considering killing me, you may want to re-think that decision." He leans forward in his throne, squinting at the human. "Hm? What is that? Some sort of organic pet? Ungh, disgusting thing. Get rid of it." "You'd be surprised what you can live through," Marissa retorts to this Vial person, who she blames for all of this planet's woes. She's heard that line before, but she can't remember where. "We're missing our friend, Vial. We're missing Kup, and we need him back immediately." Aladdin. That was it. The line was from the second Aladdin movie. "As you can see from the wreck of this planet's civilization, your research programs would not have benefited from support. Your theories are unsound," replies Shockwave. "As are your assumptions. We do not need to kill you. We only need to divide you into small pieces." Vial shrugs. "He is your problem, not mine. I cannot control the "zombies." I merely possess the means of animating them." He levels a steely gaze at Shockwave. "Oh, by all means, do try. *Sir.*" Grimlock stands there for a few moments, processing this information. "Hn." he says, and puts his blaster away...even as he starts *STOMP STOMP STOMPING* over to Vial...and he looks him over with an appraising look...at which point he attempts to neatly lift Vial up off the ground with one hand- and attempts to get his other hand around one of Vial's limbs. "Me Grimlock good at making things into itty bitty pieces." he notes. "Everlasting life..." Foxfire snorts. "That doesn't sound pleasant. Imagine the worst wound you could receive...and you're full of pain...and you still can't die. It's a curse!" He shakes his head. "Well, whatever. The Matrix isn't here. We should leave. I've had enough of this Primus-forsaken planet." Gnaw barely comprehends what is said. He transforms and gnashes his teeth, as if to ask whether eating Vial will end his life. Gnaw transforms into his Sharkticon mode. "I have people for that," counters Shockwave, raising a pointing finger. "Decepticons, attack." Vial chokes as he is grabbed, but still grins up at Grimlock as the Dinobot tries to lift him off of the throne. Something's wrong. He seems to be rather securely fastened to it. "Haha... *kaff* I'm not afraid of you, you mongrel! Nor that Sharkticon. I am beyond fear, now." He chuckles a bit. "Kill... me..." Marissa Faireborn slings her rifle over her shoulder and folds her arms. She doesn't look too inclined to mind the tough approach from Grimlock and Shockwave so long as they don't actually start torturing the fellow. "Don't kill him," she says. "Lets take his sorry ass back to the shuttle. The Matrix isn't here, so we should just find Kup and bail." Shockwave goes to examine some of the scientific equipment while the warriors tussle. Maybe there's something useful in these computers. "No fair!" Grimlock looks back at Shockwave. "Me Grimlock get here first! Me Grimlock get to-" He pulls at Vial. "Get to-" another pull, "Grrh, hold on!" he grumbles- and then, settling both hands on Vial, gives the mad decepticon a *YANK!* Apparently, there are some files on the computer regarding a place in the Spectral Climbs. Initial reports suggest Madmind was doing some investigating there. However, further information on the matter is heavily encrypted. "Grimlock...!" Marissa says in a louder, more commanding voice. "Don't do this. Lets take him back to Earth where he can be interrogated safely." She thinks this Vial fellow is horrible, but she sees no reason to start torturing him. "That stupid idea!" Grimlock says in response to Marissa. "Or you want him crazy guy zombify EARTH, too?" Shockwave slices the computer quickly, downloading its contents. Not for Madmind's scientific knowledge, which is obviously imperfect to say the least, but more out of a general habit of never neglecting to collect available data. "He can't zombie a human," Marissa points out. "But if Earth's not you're liking lets do something other than just hurting him for the hell of it." Foxfire slips over to Marissa and lightly taps her shoulder with a paw to get her attention. "What if...what if *we* get zombified?" he asks quietly. "Well, not *you*...but us. What if I'm turned into a zombie turbofox?" Vial grins, closing his optics. "Too late... you organic... pest... aaaahhhh!" He screams out as Grimlock gives him a good tug, then his torso is pulled right off of his hips. Yeah, he wasn't getting off that throne any time soon. Vial's optics quickly dim, and he goes completely lifeless. Then the real fun begins. *RRRRRRUMMMMMMBLE* Suddenly, the *throne stands up*. Yes, not only was it constructed in the shape of a giant, it WAS a giant! "Hahahahahaha!" cries the monster. "Thank you, Grimlock, for completing the final step in my transformation into the ultimate UN-life-form! I have long expected to die, and carefully modified myself so that memories and my personality would be intact as I transitioned to my new life! Thanks to the Matrix of Everlasting Life, I will never die!" His first act is to reveal a set of machine guns on his arms and spray them around the room! Luckily for Marissa, he's not aiming high enough to hit her. Marissa Faireborn frowns at Foxfire's question, as she doesn't have a very good answer. She's fine with killing for a purpose, but just hurting this person for fun rubs her the wrong way. Ultimately it becomes a moot point, as Vial reveals his second form... a giant chair!... ok, a giant transforming chair. "Hit the deck!" the Colonel shouts before proceeding to do just that. Vial unleashes his area_ranged attack on Grimlock, Foxfire, Gnaw and Shockwave, striking Grimlock, Gnaw and Foxfire. Foxfire yelps at the rumbling and flattens himself to the floor, covering his optics with his forepaws. As the throne comes to life, he peeks out, and jumps back to his feet, only to be hit with the guns. He barks in alarm. The entire floor suddenly shudders... a different kind of shudder. One that accompanies the overpassing of Jet Engines. The most expertise ears might Identify those engines as belonging to an F-4 Phantom. It fades, then builds up again - and keeps building until glass shivers, and people looking in the right direction might notice a black-noseconed, red aerialbot with white wings heading right towards the window by the thro- *KERSMASH* And the throne room, as big as it is, does not allow an F-4 Candy Apple Red Phantom to maneuver very well. Collateral Damage: About to hit the roof. Fireflight says, "LOOK OUT!" "Ooops." Grimlock says- he tosses the torso to the side, and grunts. "So...you -CAN- die!" he snarls, even as bullets pepper his frame. "Hnn. Me Grimlock just have to do it AGAIN! Rarh!" And with that, Grimlock transforms into his even more-fearsome dino-mode, and snarls, swinging his tail around in a wide arc towards the giant's left knee! "Me Grimlock fight Devastator all the time! You no so tough!" With a grunt and a growl, Grimlock changes into a robot T-rex! Watch out. Grimlock strikes Vial with Tail Sweep!. Shockwave turns around at the sound of the engine noise, and ducks. This is fortunate for him in two ways because it also permits the machinegun burst to pass over his head as it destroys the computer he was working at. "Yours is a strange obsession, bearing in mind that with appropriate maintenance and power sources, all Cybertronians have indefinite lifespans. I reiterate my earlier pronouncement: you are mad, Madmind, and moreover unfit to sit on the board of the Cybertronian Medical Association. Furthermore, your misguided quest for immortality is ironic on an additional level as it is its pursuit which will bring about your destruction: here and now." Saboteur Foxfire says, "Let's take him down, Grimlock!...uh. I think I hear Fireflight...about to hit the roof!" Shockwave strikes Vial with Ultraviolet. Fireflight says, "... Too late. ow." The Sharkticon clues in finally that he's supposed to attack Vial. Well, Gnaw isn't really too quick on the uptake. But he lurches forward, waddling as fast as he can towards his target, ready to chomp down on him. Heh, maybe if he eats him, he won't resurrect? Gnaw misses Vial with his bite attack. Vial is slammed against a wall by the Dinobot's tail, leaving him open for a searing blast from Shockwave, which burns right through his torso. A crazy, crooked grin is etched on his face, however. "Oh, you think you can destroy me do you!? You think you can discard me, call me names, exclude me from your little clubs!? NO! No longer will I be a bottom tier Decepticon, reliant on others simply to survive! I only need my Matrix, and the power it holds! Observe, see for yourself its all-consuming MIGHT!" His chest cracks open, and if this were a movie, there would probably be a heavily distorted and creepy sounding version of the Touch playing. Which would be appropriate, since within that chest is a terrifying sight--the Matrix of Everlasting Life, which looks just like the real Matrix, except it is a cold, pale white color on the metallic frame, and it possesses a pale green crystal core. "DIE!" A horrible sickly green beam pours out of this Matrix, aimed first at Gnaw to thwart his charge, then at everyone else. If it hits, well, let's just say it feels *horrible.* Vial unleashes his area_ranged attack on Fireflight, Shockwave, Gnaw and Grimlock, striking Fireflight, Grimlock, Gnaw and Shockwave. "Argh!" Grimlock shakes his head under the matrix-blast...it HURTS...but really, it's not as if Grimlock's exactly a lightweight. "Grrh!" he snarls- and takes a step back, transforming to his robot mode- energo sword in hand. "Hnn. You need Matrix, huh? Me Grimlock just tear it out, then!" And with that, he leaps into the air (Antigravs help), and attempts to *SLAM!* into the massive Vial, slashing his sword about as he attempts to carve the Matrix right out of him! There's a flurry of moving parts, and Grimlock changes to his robot mode! Grimlock strikes Vial with Energo Sword!. Fireflight is still in jetmode, trying frantically to slow down before he hits anythign that looked explosive. But just as he does this, he's struck with this matric. The jet shudders and transforms. Staggering to one side he grimaces, as close to looking ill as possible "Ugh!... " holding his stomach where his fuel tank was he lifts his gun, dropping to a knee and trying to take a bead on Vials' chestplate. Fireflight misses Vial with his Firebloom attack. Shockwave observes dispassionately that the unclean Matrix-analogue is somehow sapping what can best be described as his 'life force.' He pulls the control rods a few more millimeters out of his reactor and emits a powerful maser beam, focussed at the revealed Matrix. Is there some forcefield that protects it? Shockwave is ever the experimenter. Shockwave strikes Vial with Microwave. Foxfire dashes along the edges of the room, getting close to Vial while his attention is on the others. The Matrix Vial possesses is his target--if he can get rid of it, then everything will be settled. He latches onto the giant's leg with his claws and proceeds to climb up the whole of his body, as easily as a squirrel climbs a tree. Gnaw is knocked back by the blast! The hungry little Sharkticon wants his dinner and he wants it now! Not tomorrow not after breakfast. He runs back up to Vial and tries to take another juicy energony bite out of him. Gnaw strikes Vial with drain. Gnaw drains energon from Vial. "How will you survive without your Matrix of Life?" asks Shockwave. "Have you taken that possibility into account?" Vial apparently made for a bad target with all his thrashing, as Fireflight's beam goes past his shoulder. Grimlock enjoys more success. His sword slashes right into Vial's chest, and it begins to come a bit loose thanks to the impressive gash Grimlock put into him. Finally, Shockwave's beam unerringly points towards the foul Matrix up to a point, but something does indeed seem to be protecting it. The beam goes astray at the last moment, instead hitting the other side of his chest. This, too, at least helps to loosen the Matrix from his chest. As Foxfire scrambles onto his back, he tries to pull him off, but is distracted when Gnaw clamps onto his leg. The time it takes Vial to shake the Sharkticon off gives Foxfire all the time he needs to nab the Matrix and dart off with it. "NOOOOOOO!!! That is mine! You will not steal my research!" he screams, then... he TRANSFORMS INTO DRAGULA! His engine roaring like an undead monster, he barrels down towards the tape, aiming to crush him under his wheels! "I... you cannot destroy it! How could you!? It is priceless!" Vial screams. In a disgusting cloud of black smoke & soot, VIAL collapses downwards into the terrifying DRAGULA -- engine revving. Vial strikes Foxfire with ram. Grimlock hits the ground feet-first- and glares after Dragula. "Rargh! You get back here!" he snarls- and pulls out his blaster to fire away at the speeding vehicle! "Me Grimlock not done killing you again!" Grimlock strikes Dragula Racecar with Double-Blaster!. Seeing what Vial was doing, Fireflight lets out a shout just as loud as Vial almost "STop him!" He leaps after Vial, moving to lunge and grab onto the car's backend. Fireflight misses Dragula Racecar with his grasp attack. Fireflight though, misses and does a faceplant behind the dragula. Foxfire jumps back down the insant he snatches the Matrix. He proceeds to run off, but Vial catches up to him, and he is badly damaged as the strange vehicle attempts to crush him. He clutches the Life Matrix tightly in his paws, laying trembling on the floor. "Eternal life...it...it's a CURSE!" His optics flare slightly as he watches the others go after Vial. He tries to scramble away with his back paws clawing at the floor. Shockwave undergoes a simple transformation, safety seals interlocking as he converts into a giant "laser." Fireflight says, "Foxfire! Get my way! I can fly us out! OR something..." Saboteur Foxfire says, "Blaster's probably gonna lecture me for doing something so crazy..." Fireflight says, "I flew through a window into a building. You think YOU're going to get a lecture..." Shockwave transforms, mad-scientific papers and various bits of debris fluttering around in the downblast of his rockets as he hovers near the ceiling of the lab. It's not that he cares for poor Foxfire getting crushed like roadkill. It's just that he disapproves of Vial's methods. His barrel flares as he charges up the superlaser. "Priceless, charlatan? This is bad science." Grimlock says, "Psh. Not important meeting!" Shockwave strikes Dragula Racecar with Death Ray. Vial falls to the ground unconscious. Saboteur Foxfire says, "Well...if we *do* get lectured, at least that way we'll be sure that we're still alive." Fireflight pulls himself to his feet, stumbling towards Foxfire now. He steps in front of her, kneeling there and angling his wing to shield her... when the creature drops. HE stares at it, gun still aimed, remembering the comment about being unable to die "... Does anyone have a shoe?" Fireflight has achieved Stand Tall. Dragula Racecar 's back hatch explodes from Grimlock's blaster fire, but this doesn't deter him from running right over Foxfire. He attempts to do a 180 degree turn to run over him all over again, yelling, "No, you fools! Death is the real curse! Do you not understand? There is no life after death, just a great yawning void! My solution is the correct one! My solution would preserve lives for all eternity! *I* am the hero, you are the villains! And it is I, VIAL, the greatest mind in the galaxy who will bring this everlasting life to all!" Accelerating towards Foxfire with those cruel wheels, he yells, "And soon you will enjoy my gift to you! ALLLLL OF YOUUUUU!" Then, he is struck by the blinding white flash of Shockwave's ultimate attack, and howls in agony as his silhouette is burned away by the cleansing radiation. "NYAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Foxfire sits up on his haunches, still clutching the Matrix. He stares as Vial seems to be vaporized, ears pinned back optics wide. "We...we did it...? Is...is he gone?" He shakes his head. "Such a fool..." As the attack subsides, nothing remains of Vial, his passaged marked only by a sizzling hole that Shockwave burned right through the floor. Grimlock hmmms, and watches Shockwave vaporize Dragula. "...Me Grimlock coulda done that." he notes. "...if me wanted." this said, the dinocommander looks over the debris- and then over at Foxfire...and then, at the Evil-matrix! "Hnn. Me Grimlock say this thingie stupid." he mutters- and tromps over, attempting to crush the Everlasting doohickey beneath one massive foot! KA-RUNCH! The Matrix of Unlife is utterly smashed to bits under Grimlock's foot. The green crystals fade to a dull, lifeless grey, and outside, in the city, the zombies have stopped moaning and howling. "Worse than foolish, incompetent," intones Shockwave, hovering while he rebuilds the charge in his dumped capacitors. "This 'Matrix Quest' of Galvatron's is a chain of tragedies. If he somehow survives, perhaps he will have learned wisdom enough to give up this failed theory. Decepticons, we depart. I have his data. Some of it may still be of use in this strange pursuit across the galaxy." Saboteur Foxfire says, "All right...now we need to find Kup." Suddenly, the door to the throne room opens. More zombies? No... it's Kup! "Ennnh... you people miss me?" he groans as he limps inside. He's covered from head to toe with scratches, dents, and bite marks. Kup says, "*kaff* You won't have to search too hard, lad." Saboteur Foxfire says, "Kup! You're okay!" Kup says, "Barely. Think I was fightin' every damn zombie on the planet for a moment, there." Fireflight looks at Shockwave then, a hand moving to pet Foxfire reassuringly. He looks over as Kup comes in and sighs, standign finally and keeping quiet, looking exhausted himself. Foxfire rushes over to Kup as the old mech arrives, despite his own injuries. "Kup! I'm so glad you're okay! 'Madmind' is gone, and so is his Matrix." "You owe Grimlock a debt of gratitude," Shockwave tells Kup, and glides out through one of the windows in a wash of hot radioactive air. The plasma flame of his rockets is visible briefly under the clouds as he cruises off across the city, climbing up and out of the atmosphere to a meeting with the Decepticon capital ship in high orbit. Grimlock pauses, and glances at Shockwave. "Hn? If...ooooh, did me Grimlock really kill him Galvytron after all!" he asks, eagerly- but then the Decepticons are departing. Dang. "HEY! HEY! Me Grimlock ask you- oh, Kup!" and Grim looks over at the old veteran. "Me Grimlock break thingie." he says- taking a moment to scrape some matrix-bits off the bottom of his foot. Sharkticon has anime-waterline-optics as his meal is vaporized. Oh how he wanted to finish eating Vial! Well at least he got a taste of him. And all the zombies have stopped. Heeeyyyy, maybe there's some leftovers out there still... Kup squints warily at Foxfire. "Ya did? Good work. I take it that it wasn't the real thing." He scowls at Shockwave as he departs, but he realizes that the cyclops has a point. "Yeah. I do." He pats Grimlock on the shoulder, and smirks. "Now Grimlock, don't even think 'a draggin' that stuff onto the ship. Ha ha! Make a mess. And Fireflight, you did good, too. I don't think there's gonna be too many survivors here, but you managed to save one of them from certain death. Well done, lad. Well done, all of you. You made me proud." Foxfire nods. "He called it the Matrix of Everlasting Life. I managed to get it off him, and then Grimlock crushed it once the crazy guy was vaped." He licks a forepaw. "Can we get off this planet now?" Fireflight had been staring out after Shockwave. Or just staring. When his name was mentioned he blinks and looks back. Then he grins, straightening his shoulders somewhat "Thanks! I couldnt just LEAVE him there. He's on the shuttle I know. I'm sure he'll be glad to hear about this though." he guestures to Grimlocks' foot. "Yay! Me Grimlock save planet! Me good at that." he nodnods- and after shaking the last of the Matrix-fragments from his foot, stompastompastomps over towards the door. "Me Grimlock fly spaceship back to Orion Pax now! 'cuz me best pilot!" Kup nods at Foxfire. "Yeah. Let's get the frak outta here. If nothing else, anyone that's still alive on this planet should be hopefully to rebuild it. This world will never be the same thanks to the Decepticons, but now they at least have a chance to survive. Now let's get to the roof. Shuttle oughta be waitin' for us." He walks out, heading up. "Uh, sure, Grimlock. I'll be your copilot. Ya know. I ain't so hurt I can't fly a ship. Or, uh, help you fly it." SEVERAL HOURS LATER There is, in fact, one tiny bit of Vial left. His original upper torso, arms, and head, which Grimlock ripped off of the "throne." That's still there. *blinkblink* Its red optics flash online, and a wicked grin appears on his face. "I... cannot... DIE!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" THE END Credits scroll Marissa has achieved No 1 Left Behind. Most damage dealt to tank - Grimlock Most zombies killed - Kup Most headshots - Shockwave Took most damage - Foxfire :( Took least damage - Marissa Fairborne :D Most dubious fashion sense - Catechism Loudest player - Sinnertwin Saved most civilians - Fireflight Most zombies eaten - Gnaw 1235 zombies were harmed in the making of this TP.